Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Psychology; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Alison Clabaugh
Second Advisor
Meg Nolan
Abstract
Weight stigma is discrimination or bias against any individual who is perceived to be overweight or obese. It has recently been recorded that the effects of weight discrimination have an influence on three major areas of life which include schools, the workplace, and personal relationships. This is important as weight discrimination was found to mostly have negative effects in all these areas but was also found to be sometimes beneficial in others, such as retail. Past research has also shown that the effects of weight discrimination are 37 times worse among obese females compared to obese males. One alarming setting that it was also found to happen in is among women postpartum in which they are treated differently for the weight they gained. The findings of all these studies suggest an increase in public health awareness on the topic of weight discrimination since it extends to many areas of life including schools, the workplace, and personal relationships. Educating people about the issue can potentially help reduce the bias experienced among this population. Findings are discussed in the following paper.
Recommended Citation
Noyola, Emanuel, "Weight Stigma in Different Aspects of Life" (2020). Capstone Showcase. 11.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2020/psychology/11
Included in
Education Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, Law Commons, Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, Psychology Commons
Weight Stigma in Different Aspects of Life
Weight stigma is discrimination or bias against any individual who is perceived to be overweight or obese. It has recently been recorded that the effects of weight discrimination have an influence on three major areas of life which include schools, the workplace, and personal relationships. This is important as weight discrimination was found to mostly have negative effects in all these areas but was also found to be sometimes beneficial in others, such as retail. Past research has also shown that the effects of weight discrimination are 37 times worse among obese females compared to obese males. One alarming setting that it was also found to happen in is among women postpartum in which they are treated differently for the weight they gained. The findings of all these studies suggest an increase in public health awareness on the topic of weight discrimination since it extends to many areas of life including schools, the workplace, and personal relationships. Educating people about the issue can potentially help reduce the bias experienced among this population. Findings are discussed in the following paper.